Clearfield county was created on March 26, 1804 by an act of the State Legislature. The older counties of Lycoming and Huntdington surrendered portions of their territory to the creation of the new county. Clearfield county is bounded north by Elk and Cameron counties; east by Centre and Clifton counties; south by Cambria county, and west by Jefferson and Indiana counties.
The first board of county commissioners to the county were Roland Curtin, James Fleming and James Smith, all appointed by Governor McKean in 1805. The first act the commissioners did was to create a local government or seat of the newly created county. They came upon land owned at the time by Abraham Witmer at a village known as Chincleclamousche, named after the Native American chief of the Cornplanter's tribe of Senecas. Clearfield became the new name of the old village.
The two major industries of the county in the mid-1800s until the early 1900s were lumber and coal. Lumber was still being floated down the West Branch of the Susquehanna up until 1917. Along with lumber and coal, clay mining for brick making, a cheese company and a sportswear manufacturer were all local industries. Coal remains the main industry of the county to this day.
As of the 2000 census, there are 83,382 residents living in Clearfield County. There are 30 Townships, 19 Boroughs and 1 City in the county.
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